Chocolate Almond Biscotti

September 2, 2012

When I was younger, I didn’t really appreciate biscotti. I always thought of them as ‘the disappointing cookie’ (kind of like oatmeal raisin, when compared to chocolate chip). But then one day I decided to give them another try, and found that I actually really like them. And of course they’re perfect with coffee (one of my big passions!)

A while ago a friend of mine mentioned that she had a biscotti recipe, and told me about the double-baking process used to make them. Before that I hadn’t ever thought about how they were made, but that sounded intriguing. So I decided I needed to make some biscotti. I was having trouble deciding on what flavor to make, though. Should I do citrus? Something with nuts or dried fruit? Given that when I was ready to start, I still hadn’t made a decision, I went with the default — chocolate.

I glanced at a few recipes for a baseline, and then just started throwing stuff in. I went with some really good ground cocoa (Dagoba), almond and vanilla extract, and just a touch of espresso powder. I used a smaller amount of fat than most recipes called for, and supplemented with a bit of applesauce. As with most of my baked goods, I replaced a large amount of the sugar with erythritol to cut down on calories. The baking process wasn’t too difficult – they took a lot longer to ‘dry’ in the second baking than all the recipes I looked at, but they eventually did. And the taste? TURBO chocolatey!

Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees. Line two baking sheets with aluminum foil, and spray well with cooking spray.

In one bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and salt, and set aside. In another bowl mix together the erythritol, sugar, olive oil and applesauce. Add the cocoa powder, almond extract, vanilla extract, and espresso powder. Next add the egg and egg whites. Gradually add the flour mixture (in about 3 batches), combining well.

Chocolate Almond Biscotti Dough (really more of a dough/batter hybrid)

Divide the dough in half, rinse your hands in cold water and just shake (but not dry) them off. Form two skinny loaves between 2-3 inches wide and about 12 inches long. (The dough will spread a bit as it bakes.)

Biscotti Loaf Ready for First Bake (No, not very attractive at this point, but keep going – it’s worth it!)

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until it has the consistency of a loaf of bread (just a tiny bit of give when you touch the top).

Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. As soon as you remove the biscotti, decrease the oven temperature to 275.

Sliced Biscotti Loaves

Slice each loaf diagonally with a serrated knife into 1/2 to 3/4 inch slices. Wipe the aluminum foil with a paper towel to get rid of excess cooking spray, then arrange the slices on the baking sheets, and bake until the biscotti are dry. (Most recipes I looked at online indicated this would take about 8-10 minutes. But it seriously took a full 30 minutes for mine to be *mostly* dry). Remove from oven, and cool on a baking rack.

4 Responses to “Chocolate Almond Biscotti”

I generally get mine at Whole Foods. Unfortunately it is pretty expensive compared to sugar, but I think it’s worth it for the calorie savings. Here is the brand I have been using lately: http://www.zsweet.com/